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Movie Review: “Carole King: Tapestry - Captured Live from Hyde Park, London”

On July 3, 2016, Carole King and a crack, seven-piece band rolled in to London’s Hyde Park for the singer/songwriter’s first - and likely only - full-album performance of her career-defining, 1971 LP, Tapestry.

The concert before 65,000 fans on a glorious, sunlit summer evening was professionally filmed and shown in theaters across the United States July 11 as “Carole King: Tapestry - Captured Live from Hyde Park, London.” The 100-minute performance will be released on CD/DVD Sept. 1 as “Tapestry: Live at Hyde Park.”

“This is what 74 looks like,” an exuberant King - dressed in slacks, high heels and a sequined top - said as she returned to her piano bench after taking a turn on electric guitar for Tapestry’s most rock ‘n’ roll track, “Smackwater Jack.”

It was a necessary comment, as King commanded the stage and inhabited her songs like a woman 25 years her junior. And though her voice has deepened and coarsened over the decades - something made clear when she sang a duet with her 20-something self on “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” - King’s modern instrument serves her old songs incredibly well and gives them a fiery flash they didn’t have back in the early ‘70s.

From “I Feel the Earth Move,” through “So Far Away” and “You’ve Got a Friend” to the title track and the album-closer that was made most famous by Aretha Franklin, King and her musical and vocal assistants expertly transitioned Tapestry to the stage - it differed from the studio version enough to make it fresh and was true enough to evoke memories for the audience; memories that were evident every time the camera panned the crowd to show ecstatic fans singing along.

Adding to the authenticity was the presence of guitarist Danny “Kootch” Kortchmar, who reprised his role as Tapestry’s studio guitarist, and the album’s producer Lou Adler, who could be seen milling about at the side of the stage.

Through advertisements for the one-night-only screening touted appearances by musical heavyweights such as James Taylor, Elton John, Graham Nash and David Crosby, these turned out to be nothing more than pre-recorded segments that were shown on Hyde Park’s big screens before King took the stage. The evening’s only live guests were a British saxophonist, King’s daughter, Louise Goffin, who sang co-lead vocals on “Where You Lead” and “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?” and the U.K. cast of “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical,” who joined in for the show’s penultimate number, a reprise of “I Feel the Earth Move.”

Given the songbook King and her ex-husband and writing partner Gerry Goffin, are responsible for, reprises - “You’ve Got a Friend” also appeared twice - seemed a bit lazy, even as King dipped in to that book to dust of tracks such as “I’m into Something Good” (Herman’s Hermits); “Chains” (the Beatles); King’s own “Jazzman’” “Loco-Motion” (Grand Funk Railroad/Kylie Minogue); and “Up on the Roof” (Taylor) among others.

In a 2017 interview tacked on to the concert, King cast doubt on ever playing Tapestry again, saying the preparatory work that was involved makes it an almost-impossible endeavor. Still, she seemed genuinely pleased with the way the one-time event came off and fans will likely feel the same knowing that even if they won’t be able to witness King performing her most famous work in person, they can watch it at any time after it’s released in the fall.

Grade card: “Carole King: Tapestry - Captured Live from Hyde Park, London” - B+